Alone
by mlw217
Summary: Emily Prentiss goes after an Unsub by herself....Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

Alone

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

Sprinting, finding it hard to breathe, Emily Prentiss flew after the Unsub. This was the guy they had been searching long and hard for and now Emily had found him. She figured it was a little stupid going after him by herself, but she just couldn't let this guy get away again. Before she had spotted him, she called for backup and knew that JJ, Morgan, Reid, Hotch, and Rossi were on their way. Her legs felt like jelly as she pushed herself to run even faster. She had to catch this awful, loathsome man. Tom Pierce (That was his name) preyed on children and Emily promised herself that she wouldn't let him hurt anyone else ever again. Pumping her arms as fast as she could, she turned a corner and noticed that she was closer than she had expected to be. For a stupid pervert, he sure could run fast. She felt her badge and gun on her hip, the only support she had as she kept up the pace. They were in an alley now and the sun had set nearly half an hour ago; it was dark. Emily got closer as the man slowed to a stop and she unholstered her gun, aiming it right in between his eyes. She breathed hard and was sucking air in as fast as her body would take it.

"Get down on the ground!" Emily screamed this order at the man and gestured to the ground. Tom chuckled, breathing hard as well.

"Why don't you get over here and make me, Agent Prentiss." His eyes were filled with evil.

"Get down on the ground now!" Emily was still trying to catch her breath. Tom nodded, and Emily thought that she had him; only he wasn't nodding at her. A man came up behind her and put a gun to the side of her head. She heard his finger move dangerously close to the trigger and she knew that this mysterious man was very serious.

"Put your gun down, Agent Prentiss." Tom smiled and watched as Emily did as she was told; she had no other choice. Now she wished she had waited on her team. She felt her stupidity wash over her and shame fill her red face. She had to do something. As quickly as she had made her decision, she did it; no turning back. Emily punched the gun arm aside and kicked her assailant in the groin, following that with an eye gouge. She tried to get to her gun, but before she could, Tom was on top of her, pinning her to the ground. He delivered punch after punch, each one causing more blood flow than the one before. Emily fought as hard as she could and managed to get a punch into his face. Tom grabbed at his face in surprise and got knocked off of Emily. She threw a couple more and kicked him in the face, knocking him out. There was a sigh of relief until Emily realized that she was not done. The other man sauntered toward her with his gun held out at the ready. She was sure that he would shoot right away, but he got distracted by Tom stirring and Emily took advantage of it. She took a dive toward her gun and grabbed it, but she wasn't quick enough. Two gun shots filled the night air, the blast lighting up the dark alley…

***

"Alright, we're almost there." Hotch's voice filled the SUV and everyone grew silent in anticipation. They had been looking for this guy for so long; almost 4 months, and each time they got close, something would happen and they would fail. Rossi sat in the passenger seat as Hotch drove and JJ, Morgan, and Reid were squeezed in the back seat.

"There's Emily's car…but I don't see her." JJ spouted this, worry immediately entering her voice. Emily was supposed to wait. Morgan's brows drew together and he cursed under his breath. Hotch was silent and parked right behind Prentiss' car, wasting no time. They all filed out of the car, not even bothering to lock the doors and looked into Emily's window. The hope fell; she wasn't in her car. Morgan cursed again and looked around, not seeing anything that would help them find her.

"She went off by herself, didn't she?" Reid's voice was small and slightly afraid as he asked. No one answered, only walked a little aimlessly around. Suddenly two shots were fired from somewhere in the distance and everyone's faces fell.

_I'm starting this one as I'm supposed to be working on my other fanfic… :D Please Read and Review and tell me what you think! –soccergirlmich--_


	2. Chapter 2

Alone

Hotch took off running in the direction of the shots and the rest of the team followed frantically. JJ's heart lurched as soon as she heard the gun shots; Emily was in trouble. When the team came to a fork, they split Hotch, Rossi, and Reid going one way, Morgan and JJ going the other.

***

By the time Emily had reached her gun, the man had fired and Emily had only just pulled the trigger as a response. Two shots filled the alley and Emily gasped in pain. The bullet fired straight through her shoulder – into the joint. She gritted her teeth and muffled her scream. Opening her eyes immediately after the shot, she saw the shooter on the ground; her bullet nailed him right in between his eyes. He was definitely dead.

Her shoulder felt like it was on fire. She could feel the blood pouring from her wound and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to block out the horrible pain. It throbbed in time with her heart beat, letting her know that damage had been done and she put her hand to her head, which was matching the tempo of the throbbing in her shoulder.

Moaning in pain, Emily looked around for the unconscious Tom…he was gone. Emily's eyes were wide in disbelief; she had lost him again. The pervert was still on the streets thanks to her. She closed her eyes and felt her blood loss making her tired and weak; she didn't want to move from her spot with her back against the brick wall of the alley. Then, she heard a gun. Her eyes flashed open and she found that she was staring down the barrel of a pistol. Then, she realized who was brandishing the weapon, hate filling every inch of her weak expression. Emily felt her gun sitting idly by her leg and Tom saw it too. Tom clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth in warning as he saw Emily's move to grab her gun. Tom bent down, his pistol still trailing on Emily's face, grabbing Emily's last hope at destroying this man and perhaps survival, if he decided death was her fate. Her breathing was ragged and she began to feel dizzy.

"Emily!?" A yell echoed through the alley and Tom's eyes were afraid and surprised. He gritted his teeth in anger and indecision.

"I'm coming for you, Emily. Don't forget…we have a score to settle." With that, Tom hit her in the face with the butt of the gun and slid away into the darkness.

***

"Emily!" JJ yelled this, praying for an answer. Morgan was silent, listening intently for anything that would tell him where Emily was. They rounded a corner and their hearts dropped into their stomachs. They saw two bodies lying motionless on the damp pavement, blood evident. JJ ran to Emily's side and checked her pulse.

"Emily, come on. Emily, can you hear me?" JJ's frantic voice entered Emily's ears.

"This guy's dead. Shot in between the eyes." Morgan reported this and went over to Emily and JJ. "I'll call Hotch." Morgan was keeping his words short, his emotions running high. He walked away from JJ a little and pulled his phone out.

"Emily, come on…wake up." JJ saw all of the blood and fear entered her chest. Suddenly, Emily stirred and JJ called Morgan over there.

"Emily? Hey Em, are you okay?" JJ's voice shook and she helped Emily as she struggled to sit up.

"Yeah." Her voice was only a whisper.

"Oh my gosh, Emily. Your shoulder!" JJ's eyes were wide when she saw the gunshot wound and she put pressure on it instantly. Emily groaned and winced as JJ apologized.

"I'm fine, JJ. Let's just get out of here." Emily started to get up, but fell back down, and JJ caught her.

"It's okay, Em. Just relax." JJ looked up to Morgan, who bent down and put a hand on his partner's arm.

"Why did you go off by yourself, Prentiss?" Worry entered his eyes as he saw Emily's bloody face. There was a long silence as Emily stared off into the distance.

"Prentiss?" Morgan shook her. There was a vacant, bitter look in her eyes.

"He was getting away...I couldn't let him get away again." Her body shook and her voice trembled. JJ sighed and smoothed Emily's hair.

"What happened?" JJ's voice was soft.

"I ran after him and I thought had him. He was cornered; he had nowhere else to go. Then, that guy came up behind me with a gun." Emily gestured in the direction of the dead guy. She stopped and squeezed her eyes shut in pain. "He said that he was going to come after me. He said that he has a score to settle…I think he wants to kill me." Emily's eyes were frozen on the man she had killed. This wasn't like Emily; she wasn't ever emotional in front of her team. Morgan gritted his teeth and shook his head. JJ blinked away a tear that had surfaced and quickly hid it from sight, anger taking over instead.

"Morgan!" Hotch called for him as he rounded the corner. "Prentiss?" He spotted her, bleeding on the ground. "What the…"

"Rossi, will you call an ambulance?" Morgan asked this and he nodded while Emily protested.

"Emily, you were shot and I'm more than sure you have a concussion. You're going to the hospital." JJ gave Emily a serious look and pressed a little harder on her shoulder, bringing out a whimper in response.

As the sirens grew closer, the team waited. This was going to be a long night.

_Thanks for the reviews! Keep them coming! :D –soccergirlmich--_


	3. Chapter 3

Alone

JJ held Emily's hand while the team waited for the ambulance to arrive. Emily wouldn't show it purposefully, but her pain was blatant in her eyes. Her face was all black and blue, red with fresh and dried blood. Her right eye was swollen shut and her shoulder was bleeding profusely. Emily sat with her back against the brick wall and every ounce of energy she had was draining away. JJ saw Emily's eyes drifting closed and she shook her gently. Emily's dangerously pale face greeted JJ's worried one.

"Come on, Em. You've gotta stay awake, okay?" JJ squeezed her friend's hand and swallowed back her anger at Tom, the pervert that had caused so much pain and destruction. Emily started to shake uncontrollably against the cold that was seeping through her bones. She tried her hardest to keep still but could find nothing warm to prevent her shivering. JJ pulled off her coat and draped it around Emily in an attempt to keep her warm. It scared JJ that Emily was cold; it was eighty degrees outside. She looked up from her spot by Emily's side to Hotch's eyes. Fearful tension filled the air between their stares and they blinked that away as soon as they saw the ambulance lights fill the alley.

"They're here, Em." Morgan and Hotch met the paramedics and directed them to Emily's almost lifeless, shivering body. Morgan almost screamed when one of the paramedics tried to stop at the dead man's body, but as soon as Hotch informed them that he was long dead, he stopped. The man didn't know that Hotch had saved him from Morgan's wrath. The team gathered around Emily far enough away as to give her room to breathe, but close enough so that they could hear and see everything that was going on. Everyone could see the pain in Emily's usually still, strong eyes. Reid stood next to Morgan and tried not to look at Emily's beaten face.

"I'm fine guys. Just fix me up so I can get back to work." Her voice shook with the cold and the paramedics looked at JJ with wild, crazy looks. They couldn't believe that Emily was talking like this when she could be bleeding to death. The paramedics ignored her and spoke.

"Agent Prentiss, you've lost too much blood. We need to hurry and get you to a hospital for a transfusion before you pass out. Are you feeling light headed?" One of the men tried to keep Emily's attention in vain so he turned to JJ. Emily rolled her eyes and listened to the paramedic, who had decided to ignore her.

"She needs to go now. You can come with her, if that will get her to cooperate. I have a feeling that she doesn't do well with doctors or help of any kind." JJ nodded and smiled a little.

"Yeah. I'd be glad to go. You'll need me." JJ glanced to Emily with a wry smile and patted her head gently.

"So, JJ…how's Henry?" Emily's voice was small as she attempted to keep her mind off of the gaping hole in her shoulder and her ever-swollen face. JJ took Emily's hand and sighed, smiling. They were in the back of the ambulance and every bump that the car hit made Emily's face contort in pain. Every time that happened, JJ winced and squeezed Emily's hand tighter than before.

"He's wonderful…how's your mother?" JJ figured that by keeping Emily talking, it would prevent any outbursts. Emily rolled her eyes.

"Gosh, she's gonna have a heart attack when she hears. Can we…not tell her?" Emily's eyes were fearful. JJ smiled and shook her head. Out of all the things that Emily could be afraid of…it was her mother's reaction to her getting shot by a dangerous, unstable pervert…not the actual pervert. JJ squeezed Emily's hand and chuckled.

"Only you would be worried about that."

"She's not your mother." Emily squeezed her eyes shut in pain for a few seconds and then opened them again as if nothing happened. JJ held her breath, feeling helpless to the pain Emily was feeling. After a few seconds of silence, JJ took a breath.

"Are you okay, Em?"

"Of course I am, JJ. I'm just shutting my eyes because they're tired." JJ stared at Emily and sighed.

"So what does your mother do these days?" Emily looked up at JJ and attempted to sit up. As soon as she did this, she got pushed back down by the paramedic and JJ.

"Well…I'm not too sure. I haven't seen her in so long. I get along better with her when it's like that. I can't fight with her if I don't see her. If she hears about this, it'll be non-stop. You'll be sorry you called her just because you won't be able to stand the petty, stupid arguments." Emily was running out of breath with every word she said and she struggled to keep her voice above a whisper. JJ shook her head.

"I don't know how Hotch is going to be able to keep this from your mother. He is obligated to tell Strauss everything…and I know that she and your mother are good friends. I'm not sure if I can get her to not tell your mom." JJ chuckled a little and looked down into her best friend's red eyes.

"I'll see what I can do…how about that?" JJ pursed her lips playfully and took out her phone, still holding Emily's hand. Emily kept silent and attempted to hear everything.

"Hello, Agent Strauss. This is Agent Jerau… Yes ma'am. I'm with her right now…. You haven't by any chance called her mother yet, have you?...You haven't. Good. Agent Prentiss has asked that I inquire of you that you not tell Ambassador Prentiss of this incident….Yes ma'am. I understand that…but ma'am if you'll let me…she doesn't want her to know…well isn't that her right?" JJ's face was full of changing emotions. From kind, to angry, to annoyed, and back to kind again.

"Yes ma'am." JJ rolled her eyes and put her hand over the speaker of her phone. "She wants to speak with you if you're up to it." Emily nodded and let JJ hold the phone to her ear.

"Hello, Agent Prentiss. I'm wondering why you wouldn't want your mother to know that you've been injured quite severely." Strauss' voice was full of authority.

"She's just going to blow it way out of proportion. I'm NOT injured severely. They're just going to fix me up and then I'm going back on the job. It's just my shoulder that got shot. I will find this man." Emily's voice grew louder and louder until she had to take deep breaths every two words. JJ had a worried look in her eyes and was prepared to take the phone from Emily as soon as she saw that Emily was getting out of control.

"Your mother is a good friend of mine and I don't feel right keeping something like this from her."

"Can't you just tell her that I was roughed up a bit, but that I'm completely fine?" Emily heard Strauss take a deep breath and sigh, defeated.

"Okay, okay. I'm not lying but I'll do this. Agent Prentiss, before I go: please take the time you need to get better before you go back into the field. This is a personal favor. Your mother would kill me if I let you overwork yourself after getting shot. Take care of yourself." With that, she hung up and Emily smiled, content.

_I'm sorry for not updating sooner. Please read and review! I love reviews! :D –soccergirlmich-_


	4. Chapter 4

Alone

_Okay...So this chapter was accidentally put on my other Criminal Minds story...So if any of you read my other story...you have already read this. I feel horrible for this stupid mix up. I'm very sorry for any confusion or irritation this caused...but here's an update...hope you enjoy. _

Emily Prentiss handed the phone back to JJ, who was waiting on an explanation to the smile on her face.

"She said that she wouldn't tell her all of the details, just the vague things that happened. That should appease the Ambassador for now." JJ shook her head and chuckled. They were just arriving at the hospital and the paramedic that had been sitting quietly, prepared to get his patient out as quickly as possible. JJ watched him as he moved around the ambulance and saw his urgent face glancing back and forth between Emily's pale face and the door. This was making JJ even more nervous than before.

Once they got out of the ambulance, JJ already had to argue with Emily about being wheeled into the hospital. Emily was adamant about being able to walk on her own.

"Em, stop. I know you can, but you don't need to. Now cooperate please?" JJ's tone was exasperated and authoritative. She shared a look with the paramedics and smirked playfully at Emily. As they wheeled Emily in, JJ expected more arguing but instead there was silence. Worry entered her thoughts and she looked down to Emily's lethargic, colorless face. Emily's eyes drooped closed and JJ gasped, taking her friend's hand.

"Emily! You have to stay awake!" JJ looked to the paramedics, who had started to roll her on with more urgency than before into a trauma room, where doctors and nurses took over and tried to push her out of the room. JJ argued but was ushered out of the room by a kind looking nurse.

"Ma'am, you need to wait out in the waiting room." JJ's eyes were angry.

"Nurse, I'm Agent Jereau with the FBI and that is my partner. You _will_ let me in there right now." JJ held up her badge with tears in her eyes threatening to spill and the nurse looked taken aback. Then the nurse took a deep breath and shook her head.

"Agent Jereau, I'm sorry. We don't let family members or co-workers in the trauma room. You need to wait in the waiting room. I'll show you where that is, if you'll follow me." The nurse's eyes were filled with determination now and JJ could tell that the nurse wasn't going to be told what to do. JJ gritted her teeth in anger and she clenched her hands into fists.

JJ followed her, finally defeated. The waiting room was full of groaning and moaning people and JJ looked to the nurse in disdain and disbelief.

"You're not going to make me sit in there, are you?" JJ spoke through gritted teeth as she looked back to the slightly amused-looking nurse.

"I'm afraid there is no place else to wait, ma'am." With that sarcastic remark, she left. JJ tried to calm herself with a deep breath and shook her head. This was just great. She just had to go and make the stupid nurse mad. She looked into the germ-infested waiting room and decided to call Hotch and the team instead of sitting.

"Hotch?" JJ had walked outside of the hospital and paced back and forth, waiting on a response from her boss.

"JJ, how is she?" His voice was stiff and void of all emotion.

"I don't know. They kicked me out of the trauma room…even when I showed them my badge and gun." Irritation seeped through her tone.

"We're almost there. We'll go talk to the doctor as soon as I get there." Hotch's voice was determined and JJ relaxed a bit.

"I'm outside of the hospital…I kind of made the nurse mad and she stuck me in the waiting room. Do you know how many sick people can fit in a waiting room?" Disgust filled her voice and Hotch smirked in amusement.

"Okay. See you in a few." JJ hung up and waited for her team.

_Thank you guys for the wonderful reviews! I am so sorry for my lack of updating. I just got back from camp and I'm trying to figure out where I'm going on a couple of my other stories. Thank you for sticking with me on this and I hope you enjoy. If there is enough interest in this, I will definitely update this one more often. :D Sorry for the shortness…REVIEW! –soccergirlmich-_


	5. Chapter 5

Alone

JJ sighed in relief when she saw Hotch and the team walking toward her. The entire group wore the same face of covered up worry minus Garcia, who didn't try to mask any of her feelings. JJ greeted them with a friendly, but sad smile and led them inside, pointing to the horrid waiting room. The team's faces all mirrored her own when she first saw the room where they were expected to wait; it was disgusting. All eyes immediately looked to Hotch, expecting him to go negotiate for answers…and a different seating arrangement. Hotch looked to each of his team members and nodded curtly before stepping off to go face the hospital staff. As Hotch talked with the nurse that JJ had inadvertently made angry, Garcia grabbed JJ by the shoulders.

"Is she okay?" Her eyes were wild with worry and her grip was more than a little constricting. JJ put a calming hand on her best friend's shoulder and made her take a deep breath. The entire team was waiting for her answer.

"She was arguing with the doctor's as soon as we got here about being able to walk in there on her own and I had to tell her to let them do their jobs…and that was a good sign." Morgan gestured for her to go on with a "but".

"But then she stopped arguing and got kind of quiet. She lost a lot of blood and that's the last time I saw her. They wouldn't let me in the trauma room." Garcia looked confused.

"Why wouldn't they let you in?" JJ was sure the whole team was wondering the same as Garcia so she addressed the whole group.

"I got kind of in that nurse's face about it because she wouldn't let me in. I flashed her my badge and gun and kinda told her that she would let me in…In case you didn't pick it up: it didn't go over too well with her." JJ gestured to the nurse that was having a calm conversation with Hotch.

"I can't say I would've done anything differently, JJ." Morgan patted JJ on the back and glanced over to Hotch again. Then, they saw him shake the nurse's hand and walk back to the group without any facial cues as to how well his conversation went.

"Okay guys. They're being very generous with us today. Although they won't say anything about Prentiss' condition, they'll help us with the seating arrangements. They said that they have a waiting room in the OR, where she'll be having her surgery shortly, just outside her recovery room that we can wait in. That nurse was very understanding and told me to tell you that she doesn't hold anything against you for threatening her with your gun earlier." Hotch had a slightly playful tone in his voice but JJ still drew back, defensive.

"I did NOT threaten her with my gun, Hotch!" The whole team laughed and followed the chuckling Hotch up to the OR floor of the hospital. JJ's brows drew together and then she realized that it was a joke. Her mouth moved into the shape of an 'O' and she smiled slightly, feeling a bit foolish for her reaction. Reid looked back and grinned at her, winking.

Once they got to the waiting room, all they could do was worry and pace. They all took turns sitting, bouncing their knees up and down and pacing slowly across the small waiting area. Hotch was on the phone for the best part of the time, no doubt talking with Strauss and his babysitter. JJ just sat the whole time, her eyes red with worry. It hadn't taken this long when Garcia got shot, she told herself. As soon as that thought had popped into her mind, she regretted it. Garcia had been shot in the chest and Emily had been shot in the shoulder. She didn't understand how that could have been worse than a chest injury. When JJ looked over to Garcia, it seemed that similar thoughts had been running through her mind; she was moving her hand over her chest where her scar was as she swallowed nervously.

JJ put a caring hand on Garcia's arm and squeezed supportively. There were no words that could be said to help relieve all of their worries. Reid was now slumped over in one of the chairs, staring at a tile on the floor and Rossi stood, looking at an ad on the wall. Hotch was finally off the phone, pacing back and forth and Morgan stood, leaning against the wall, looking as tense as ever. Just then, after what seemed like an eternity, a doctor walked in calling out Emily's name. The team answered for her in union and the doctor's rigid features looked surprised.

"Agent Emily Prentiss." He paused for the answer and then looked for someone in particular to address.

"How is she?" Hotch answered and gave the doctor someone to direct all of the information to.

"There were many complications in the surgery and that's why it took so long." There was a collective gasps as everyone held their breath. "The bullet that was lodged in her joint managed to splinter and a piece somehow got into her bloodstream and traveled to her heart. We have no idea how that happened, but Agent Prentiss gave us quite a scare. We had to operate on her heart and it was touch and go a few times, but we got her back. She should be in recovery right now getting her post-surgical workups done. She is very strong and we expect a full recovery. Now, something before she wakes up from sedation: she doesn't need any stress right now. Her heart is very weak from the strain and we need to keep her stable so she can have a full and successful recovery." The doctor gave everyone a friendly smile, but his eyes showed the seriousness of their friend's situation. He gestured for all of them to follow and everyone did. When they got to the room, the doctor spoke one more time. "This room is quite large and can accommodate all of you, just keep the noise level down." Hotch and the team thanked the doctor and filed silently into Emily's room.

JJ walked in, her chest no longer constricting with worry, but now it was way worse. Emily's condition had gone completely south. People got shot in the arm and shoulder all the time and what were the odds that the time Emily got shot, it would go straight to her heart? As she looked to the bed where her friend was laying, the scene sort of shocked her. Emily looked frail and breakable. She was the strongest woman she knew and now she was lying in a bed, connected to machines, wires, and tubes and looked as if she might die at any second. JJ guessed that the entire team was feeling the same way because of the complete silence in the room.

Garcia was absolutely silent and that sort of scared JJ. She couldn't help but flash back to when Garcia was the one in the hospital bed. JJ knew that Garcia was getting flashbacks as well and she wasn't sure how to comfort her friend. JJ walked to Garcia and took her hand, making sure that she knew that she had friend's that understood.

The surgery had actually taken about six hours and none of the team had slept. About an hour into their stay in Emily's hospital room, almost everyone was out cold. Only three people were awake: Garcia, JJ, and Hotch. Hotch had stepped out for a phone call momentarily and so the only noise in the room was Emily's heart monitor and the calm breathing of their colleagues.

"JJ…she's gonna be okay, right?" Garcia's voice was a mere whisper, but all of her emotions filled it without trouble. JJ wasn't sure how to answer her friend because she herself didn't have an answer.

"Emily's strong, Garcia. You know that as well as I do. If anyone can pull through this; it's her." JJ put on a smile for Garcia and yawned unintentionally.

"You know, JJ…I keep thinking about when I got shot…" There it is, JJ thought. She knew that this was coming. She kept silent and listened. "I could've died…he could've shot me in the heart and I would've died." JJ inhaled sharply and fought the moisture in her eyes. "I was lucky and the bullet narrowly missed my heart. Emily got shot in the shoulder…and that ends up in her heart? What is that, JJ? How can that happen to someone? How can I go and by miracle opt out of heart surgery and she have to have emergency open heart surgery? How is that fair, JJ?" Tears now streamed from her eyes and JJ looked at her in disbelief.

"Garcia? You sound like your blaming yourself…" JJ couldn't believe that.

"No…not blaming myself. I just don't understand. Emily doesn't deserve this." JJ squeezed Garcia's hand and looked into her eyes.

"No…she doesn't. Emily's the strongest woman we know, right?" When she got a nod, she continued. "And she's a fighter, right?" Another nod. "She's gonna be fine." Garcia listened to her best friend and nodded again, not sure if she believed her or not. Emily was strong and she was a fighter, but was she really going to be okay?...

_Thank you guys for reading and reviewing! I really appreciate all of the awesome comments! :D I think this is a longer chapter and I hope you enjoy! Keep the reviews coming! –soccergirlmich-_


	6. Chapter 6

Alone

There was a cloud over Emily's thoughts and she fought to break through enough to understand where she was. She could feel all of her limbs and there was a dull throbbing in her chest that was spreading throughout her body. She tried to assess the damage to her, but couldn't push through unconsciousness enough to understand much of anything. There was too much silence and she sought to make a noise, any noise to end the monotony. Emily could feel the dryness in her throat and thought she heard whispers from a small distance from her head. It felt as if she were suspended in some odd, timeless, motionless space full of nothing. Her desire to get out of it was overwhelming and she immediately opened her eyes to a dim hospital room. The dimness of the room was extremely bright to her unadjusted eyes and she shut them as fast as she could, a headache forming. She squinted into the room once again and moved her head to survey the room. The movement hurt, but it seemed to be reined in by some invisible force that caused there to be some sort of cap on the actual intensity of the pain. She silently thanked whatever force it was and observed the monitors she was hooked to and the many sleeping forms scattered about the very large hospital room.

She noticed that JJ was not really sleeping; her eyes were closed but she was stirring every few seconds, obviously irritated at something. Garcia was propped up against the wall, her eyes shut tightly, as if she was having a nightmare. Emily had the strong urge to wake her and tell her that it was only a dream, but when she tried to move, there was an enormous pain that erupted from her chest and shoulder. It felt like fire was burning her from the inside. She let out a moan, but kept it quiet enough for none of her friends would hear it. She saw Rossi fast asleep on a chair and Hotch on a chair next to him, not as peaceful in his sleep as Rossi. Reid was sitting next to Morgan on a small sofa and both had angry looks on their faces as they slept. Emily wondered how long they had been there. Her brows drew together and she wondered why she would be in so much pain and why everyone would be there in the same room instead of at home, sleeping. This couldn't all be for just a simple bullet in her shoulder; that was ridiculous. She glanced around again and saw JJ open her eyes. Emily wanted to close hers to pretend she was asleep, but she wanted answers. JJ took a deep breath and her eyes fell on Emily, who stared back with a messy smile on her pale face.

"Emily!" JJ whispered excitedly. She stood up and sat in the chair next to Emily's bed, taking her hand. This would've normally been an odd gesture, but Emily felt that her condition was more serious than she thought. JJ's eyes were relieved, worried, cautious, and kind.

"What happened, JJ? I was only shot in the shoulder…why does it feel worse than that? I mean…maybe I'm just being a wimp, but my chest hurts a lot." She asked, whispering. JJ swallowed and blinked away some of her tiredness.

"Somehow the bullet splintered and caused damage to your heart. They had to do open heart surgery to repair it and they also fixed your shoulder…" JJ spoke slowly, letting it sink in. Emily took a breath and let it out quickly.

"Wow…Did I…" She stopped for a second but then started again. "Did I almost die?" JJ barely heard this question, but she winced inwardly as she comprehended Emily's question.

"The doctor said you're really lucky." That was the only way JJ could think to put it nicely to her. JJ couldn't help but think about what the doctor said about keeping her stress-free for her heart. The only thing was that if Emily didn't know what happened to her, she would be more stressed than if she knew what horrible thing had happened.

"Wow…I feel kinda weird…Did anyone find anything at the scene that could help us find Pierce?" Emily went straight to the case. Of course, JJ thought. Emily always does that.

"We've been here. There's a team on the scene, though I'm sure they're all in bed right now." JJ smiled and spoke again. "Speaking of, you should be asleep as well, Em." JJ squeezed Emily's hand and sighed.

"I think we should wake everyone up…they're going to be really sore in the morning if they don't go home and sleep in their actual beds." It was getting a little harder to talk without having to breath every few words, but she hid it fairly well. She could feel the pain medicine slowly wearing off, making the pain actually bothersome. Emily had stayed in a laying position, weary of how much pain she would feel if she attempted to move at all.

"They would want to know you're awake, though I'm not sure how many of them will leave. We were so worried…You were in surgery for over six hours." Emily's eyes widened at that last piece of information and she coughed a little, causing painful tremors to move through her chest. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited until the pain went away. JJ sat helplessly beside her while this happened, praying it would end soon.

"You okay, Em? Do you want me to go get a nurse? I'm sure your pain meds are running out." Emily had already started shaking her head before JJ was done.

"I'm fine, JJ…" There was a pause and silence. "Is Garcia alright?" Emily's voice was even weaker than before, the medicine really wearing off now. JJ glanced back at their friend and narrowed her eyes at her.

"Um…why do you ask?" JJ asked, curiously.

"She looked like she was having a nightmare…do you think it's about…" She didn't need to finish, and she didn't. JJ knew exactly what it would be about and she nodded to Emily, moving her hair behind her ears and switching hands that she held Emily's with.

"How long have you been awake?" JJ said after a long silence.

"Not that long…I'm not sure." Emily closed her eyes again and clenched every muscle in her body. The pain meds were officially done working now. The beeping from her heart monitor sky-rocketed and JJ's eyes were panicked.

"Emily?" JJ ran out of the door, looking frantically for a nurse. When she found one, they rushed in quietly and the nurse injected her with something through her IV. Within seconds, her heart rate slowed to a non-lethal rhythm and her breathing became somewhat normal. Through all of this only Hotch stirred and only for a second before he fell back asleep. JJ took a deep breath and let it out when Emily opened her eyes again.

"Oh wow…that was…" She stopped, not knowing a word to describe what had just happened. The nurse looked down to Emily with a disapproving, but sympathetic and caring glare.

"When you start feeling pain, you need to tell me. Your heart is very weak right now. Anything could set it off…You need to be aware of this at all times. Don't try to be strong…You have to accept that you're weak right now." With that, the nurse walked out, leaving them in silence again. JJ thought about what the nurse had said. Emily was supposed to accept that she was weak. She almost laughed at that absurd thought. Emily….weak? No…not even now would Emily ever accept that. She looked to Emily who was undoubtedly thinking the same thing. There was a determination in her eyes and she looked at JJ.

"Did she just tell me to accept being weak?" Her voice was full of weakness and pain, but through all of that, JJ heard the Emily she knew. JJ laughed and knew that this recovery was going to be difficult, but that she was going to make it.

After Emily had fallen asleep again, JJ got up and went outside the room. Hotch was sitting on a bench out there and JJ hadn't noticed that he had left.

"Hotch, when did you leave the room?" JJ's eyes were getting harder to keep open.

"You were dozing, I think." Hotch's voice was uneven and tired.

"What's going on?" JJ thought she read something in his face. Hotch looked up sadly.

"They spotted Pierce trying to get into the hospital a couple of minutes ago. He's trying to kill her, JJ….."

_I'm so sorry about not updating sooner…but this summer has been insanely busy. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and please keep them coming! I love your reviews! :D Hopefully, depending on response to this chapter, I'll update way sooner than it took me this time. :D Please Read and Review! _

_-soccergirlmich-_


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